New National Teacher Education Curriculum in Ghana

Abstract

The prevailing movement towards global accountability and standards is significantly driven by the forces of economic globalisation. Countries strive to enhance their competitiveness in the global market by tailoring their education systems to cultivate skills essential for this current era. With increasingly rigorous research shedding light on the pivotal role of teachers in student learning, Ghana like many countries has restructured their teacher education curriculum to ensure teacher quality and improve students' learning outcomes. With a focus on the recent transition from the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) to the Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme in Colleges of Education (CoEs), this chapter examines the objectives, structure, successes, and challenges of the new BEd curriculum. Drawing from a plethora of scholarly literature and empirical studies, the chapter explores the effectiveness of the BEd programme compared to its predecessor, the differences between the two curricula, and strategies to address implementation challenges. Through a comprehensive document analysis, this chapter contributes to the ongoing discourse on teacher education reforms in Ghana and provides insights for enhancing the quality assurance of teacher education programmes in CoEs in Ghana and across similar contexts.